1. Field
The present invention provides an apparatus for control and certification of the delivery of goods in the field of electronic commerce, and for the concurrent control and certification of the execution of the related payment.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic commerce” not only refers to the purchase of goods delivered “electronically” (e.g., a document), it also refers to electronic orders of goods delivered through non-computerized distribution channels.
A POS (Point of Sale) is a system allowing purchase by means of “electronic money” using a card having a magnetized strip, a microprocessor or both or even the mere identification number, usually 16 digits, of a card (cash card, credit card or others). Such card will be indicated with the generic term of electronic card, for ease of reference.
The POS system includes a plurality of elements, some (A1 to A10) placed on the user side, others (B1 to B5) on the side of the company issuing the electronic card:    A) USER SIDE            1) An electronic card reading device;        2) a data input device (keypad);        3) a display device;        4) a printing device;        5) a modem;        6) software for processing of data read by the reading device (bank or credit company code, client code etc.). Data are stored in a buffer for subsequent comparisons. The company code is used to determine the identification number of a company issuing electronic cards to which one can connect. On the other hand, the client code will be used to operate the related monitoring, once connection to the company issuing the electronic cards is obtained;        7) Input data processing software. The amount entered through the keypad (or directly acquired from a cash register) is also stored in a buffer and later sent to the electronic cards issuing company for the debiting procedure;        8) User-entered data (personal secret code) processing software, including an encrypting module. After a code is entered on a keypad, a module specially provided for the purpose masks the entered digits, replacing them on the display with asterisks, while a further module applies an encrypting algorithm to the entered code. Then the code thus encrypted is stored in a buffer to be sent later on to the company issuing electronic cards for the monitoring procedure;        9) A data transmission software. Usually, a commercial communication software (based on standard TCP/IP protocols or the like) is used, sending the above mentioned stored data to the center modem by means of the modem mentioned at 5); and        10) Data receiving and interpretation software. With reference to the receiving software, a commercial communication software (based on standard TCP/IP protocols or the like) is used. On the other hand, the interpretation software stores the various elements (amount, client code and secret code) in buffers, according to the received data sequence. A decrypting module is also provided.            B) ELECTRONIC CARD ISSUING COMPANY SIDE            1) A telephone calls receiver, typically a device capable of modulating several telephone lines, e.g., an ISDN trunk;        2) A dedicated processor, with related peripheral devices;        3) A database containing information about cardholders, codes, granted credit, thefts/losses and the like;        4) Interrogation and authorization software to end the transaction. In particular, by means of the client code, the database is first of all interrogated to access fields reporting stops, thefts etc. Then the database is interrogated to access fields containing the maximum amount reserved to the holder of the card and the amounts already spent. If everything is in order (card not stolen, expenditure amount not exceeding daily withdrawing limit, sum of amounts already spent and of new amount within the monthly withdrawing limit) then the expense amount operated at that time is added to the monthly and daily expenses fields. After that, the transaction is concluded successfully, by generation of an “OK” code to be forwarded to the remote POS terminal; and        5) Software for forwarding along the telephone line of the caller the above calculated answer. Usually, a commercial communication software is used here as well (based on TCP/IP standard protocols or the like) forwarding the “OK” code to the remote POS terminal that activated the request through the modem.        
FIG. 1 shows a flow chart referring to the entire prior art system listed above:
In a first step D1 the operator inserts the card in the reading device.
In a second step D2 the data processing software mentioned at A6 above acquires the information stored in the card (bank or credit company code, client code etc.).
In a subsequent decision step D3, the card is recognized or not recognized.
If the card is recognized, the flow proceeds to the steps D4 and D5, where manual or automatic entering of the amount to be paid and of the secret code are requested, respectively.
In a subsequent decision step D6, the secret code is recognized or not recognized, always by means of the software mentioned at A6 above.
In a subsequent step D7, the acquired information is forwarded to the card issuing company center. The information includes the client code, the amount to be paid, the identification number of the caller and whatever else is needed to be processed at the card issuing company side.
In the subsequent steps the card issuing company center acquires the request, processes it and sends the answer to the caller.
In particular, step D8 verifies whether the data of the provider authorize the transaction or not. If the transaction is authorized, step D9 debits the cost on the provider side. In a subsequent step D10, the affirmative answer is acquired by the caller, while in a further step D11 the slip confirming the transaction conclusion is printed. On the other hand, if the transaction is impossible (step D12), the reason why the transaction cannot be concluded can be printed or displayed.
On the other hand, if the transaction is successfully concluded, the operator delivers the goods (step D13).
A system as the one hereto described, currently adopted by nearly all stores and sales centers, cannot be easily applied to the field of electronic trade, i.e., to the field related to the remote electronic purchasing of items or goods by means of a network connection and on-line payment by electronic card. The intrinsic need of the system to provide for the presence of an operator certifying successful conclusion of a transaction is one of the main reasons why the system is impractical.
The currently known electronic trade systems provide the simple entering of the credit card identification number and the forwarding of the number through Internet, Intranet, Extranet nodes or the like. The problems associated with such mode are well known: on one hand, the unwillingness of the user to let his credit card number travel along a system such as the Internet, not very safe yet, and, on the other hand, the problem for the service provider to make a real time assessment of the validity or not of the credit card number being forwarded. Furthermore, once the provider knows the card number, automatic debiting of a monthly fee after a trial period or other uses by the provider that could hardly be controlled by the client can occur. The client will realize those uses only when checking the statement of account.
Another known mode is that of providing payment by means of prepaid cards (e.g., telephone cards, rechargeable cards, prepaid highway-toll cards etc.). A first problem is the value of those cards, which is necessarily limited. Such cards, being payable to the bearer, entail the same risks of loss or theft of cash. Furthermore, such cards have a value which decreases with time, so that the user will never be certain whether he has an amount which is sufficient for a purchase. Moreover, such cards need to be recharged (or repurchased) so that POS specially provided for the purpose have to be envisaged, the widespread distribution on the territory and availability (working hours) thereof being critical factors. Furthermore, prepaid cards are issued by specific service providers
(In Italy: Telecom, TIM, Società Autostrade etc.), thus allowing access to services provided by the issuer only, in absence of specific agreements with other service providers.
However, the present invention will be able to use the present prepaid card payment systems, thus providing the customers with a further possible alternative to make the payment.